Bar Code Tatoo

The story happens in the not-very-distant future. It seems almost everyone is getting these bar-code tatoos on their arm. These are scanned and used almost like credit cards are today.

Things begin to go very bad, though, when people are denied service, jobs, etc, based on their bar code. Kayla, a high school girl, is one of the few who doesn't get the tatoo and, as such, begins to become outcast at her school. Then things begin happening to her family. She meets up with a group of people who oppose the tatoo but they realize they have little power, especially when Congress passes a law that says everyone has to wear the tatoo.

Kayla and the others find out what kind of information is really encoded in the tatoo, which is way beyond just basic identification material. She and the others flee and she finds resistance groups but also finds traitors within her own group.

The resistance people begin to develop their psychic abilities and she and some others decide to go back and try and fight the forces behind the tatoos, which include a massively powerful multi-national corporation.

The novel is based somewhat on the Biblical concept of the "number of the beast" and everyone having to be stamped with that number or they can not buy, sell, etc. In this case, though, it's not an anti-christ or anything like that, but it's a massive multi-national corporation that gains control even of governments. In addition, there is some human cloning involved, and even extermination of those considered "unfit" including elderly people and people with other major problems.

There is even reference made to animal DNA being spliced into human DNA to give people special abilities. In essence, this is Hitler's concept of an Aryan race brought into reality through the advances of science.

The basic premise of the book is good, and the story up to near the end is quite good. The events that occur and definitely not impossible at all; for example, everyone in the U.S. must have a social security number. That's minor by itself, but the destruction of people's rights is often done in minor steps.

The abuse of science is also quite believable, as is the desire to do away with those deemed "unfit" since things like that have been done before (again, Hitler's attempt to exterminate the Jewish race is the main example.)

The story does have two problems. The first relates to the psychic abilities that the people who are in the resistance groups suddenly develop. The novel tries to give the idea that this is due to their isolation from others and other things going on, almost as if this is the next step of evolution in the human race, yet evolution moves slowly, not quickly. There's not much attention given to how to make good use of those abilities, and if those abilities will be enough to help them in their fight against the corporation.

Which brings up the second problem and that is the ending where some of the people are returning to try to fight the corporation. Kayla has a vision of their succeeding, but no one gives any idea to just what they will actually do. They will be in violation of the law by not having the tatoo. They can be easily identified and will be unable to buy or sell anything. The corporation also apparently has its own police who are not at all above killing people who get in their way. The main Senator to oppose the tatoo has quit the Senate and set up his own group, but it's not a part of the government and thus has little power.

So there's no clear idea, not really even an inkling of an idea of what they people will actually be able to do to oppose the law and the corporation. It's just sort of "well, we'll go back and we'll win." Which is a very positive thing to say and believe, but very nebulous as to how they can possibly win against the odds they are facing, and whether or not their victory will depend on their newly developed psychic abilities.

So the basic part of the novel is good, but the ending is sort of unsatisfying.

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